At its regular scheduled meeting last Tuesday, the Borough Assembly signed on to a letter opposed to adoption of an amended timber plan for managing the Tongass National Forest.
The letter, written by Juneau attorney Jim Clark, petitions recently reelected Sen. Lisa Murkowski to support delaying the implementation of the Tongass Transition Plan amendment, which the Department of Agriculture is looking to apply to the 2008 Amended Tongass Land and Management Resource Plan.
The intent of the amendment is to transition over to a young-growth timber harvest model sustainable both for the environment and for the region’s timber industry. The amendment process was initiated by the Secretary of Agriculture in July 2013, when the Forest Service was directed to transition timber harvest in the Tongass away from its predominately old-growth model.
In Clark’s letter, it is suggested the plan’s implementation ought to be delayed pending review by the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump, which takes office next month. The letter cites a number of complaints it has with the amendment, in the areas of timber, energy and mining, and contends the plan is being “rushed to completion” by the present administration. It is due to be signed by the USFS regional forester on December 28.
Assembly members approved being named as an undersigned party to the letter, which includes former Alaska governors, other municipalities, businesses and administrators. Wrangell has previously joined another of Clark’s timber-related initiatives, signing on as a party in legal proceedings over the Big Thorne timber sale in 2014, in support of Craig-based mill Viking Lumber and USFS.
The Assembly also threw its support behind efforts on the part of the Port Commission to organize a steering committee for an upcoming mariner’s memorial at Heritage Harbor. Initial plans for the site’s design were received late last year, and finalized over the summer. The proposed committee would be focused on raising and managing funds for the memorial, as well as reviewing requirements to be included on its wall, and other considerations. The committee would be terminated once construction is completed.
Two letters of interest were received for a vacancy left on the Assembly, following member Stephen Prysunka’s resignation in October. Per municipal code, he had felt compelled to cite a conflict of interest when one of his children recently took on a job with the city as a lifeguard. Though he had no part in the hiring, he had explained he wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
The resignation sparked conversation among board members on possibly changing how the borough approaches issues of nepotism where staffing and elected positions were concerned, but decided against it at a meeting November 8.
Assembly members did conclude it would be acceptable for Prysunka to reapply for appointment to the position, as the potential conflict would by then be public knowledge. He submitted a letter late last month, which was received along with one by Christie Jamieson, current Chamber of Commerce board president and a former city clerk. Noting the experience of both applicants, Assembly members unanimously decided to reappoint Prysunka to the position, which expires October 2017.
Two letters of interest were received for openings on the Parks and Recreation and Wrangell Medical Center boards, by former board chair Bob Lippert and former treasurer Barb Conine, respectively. Mayor David Jack approved both appointments. Vacancies remain, with two open seats on the Economic Development Committee and one on the Planning and Zoning Commission, all set to expire in October 2019.
It also approved at a special meeting on Friday the first read-through of an ordinance allowing the issuance of a $91,000 revenue bond, in order to help fund improvements to the municipal sewer system. The bond is needed in order to secure a Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural development loan that would fund the upgrade of two pump stations, work for which was completed this summer.
The million-dollar project replaced the 40-year-old system’s pumps and control panels, with a $821,000 contract going to CBC Construction of Sitka, and another $186,000 going to Alaska Pump & Supply. Both pumps together facilitate about 80 percent of Wrangell’s sewage.
Funding largely came through the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, sourced from a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) block grant. The city was on the hook for the remaining 25 percent of the project’s costs, to which it turned to USDA for a loan to make up the difference. This will come in the form of a $68,000 grant and a 40-year, $91,000 loan, the latter to be repaid through the revenue bond.
The Assembly has already approved issuing the revenue bond, but the latest ordinance makes some changes to the wording needed before the loan can be processed. It repeals an ordinance adopted on September 27, which required some changes to conform to Department of Agriculture requirements.
Two additional items relating to the city dock lighting project bidding were tabled for review by the city’s attorney, to be taken back up at another special meeting scheduled for today at noon. The contract entails a quarter-million dollar project using DCCED commercial passenger vessel grant funding, with bids received by Tongass Electric and Buness Electric. Tongass submitted the lowest bid for construction, at $246,577; local contractor Buness submitted one for $254,440. Engineering estimates for the work were higher than those received, at between $280,000 and $300,000.
City Hall will be closed on Monday to allow staff time to upgrade and train for new accounting software. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday. The work will be the first phase of the rollout, which encompasses all accounting tasks except for payroll. That will be covered in the second phase, tentatively slated to begin in January.
In his monthly city manager’s report, Jeff Jabusch noted options are still being looked into for offloading the city’s excess scrap metal. Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority is currently working out a draft proposal with contractor Waste Management to address disposal issues for each member community.
Jabusch also indicated city staff favored siting additional cemetery space at the community garden area. Currently Wrangell’s cemeteries are running low on open plots, which could pose a problem in the near future. He will further review the concept with staff and draw up an estimate for the conversion, to be included in next year’s budget draft.
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